ELLEN KNICKMEYER, AAMER MADHANI and JOSEF FEDERMAN.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

As Netanyahu wraps Washington visit, progress on a Gaza ceasefire remains murky

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has attended a memorial service for two slain Israeli Embassy staffers at the end of his trip to Washington. He met this week with President Donald Trump about a ceasefire deal in Gaza and other issues. But as Netanyahu gets set to head back to Israel, it is unclear if there was any breakthrough on sealing a Trump-backed 60-day truce between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu said in a video released Thursday that he is trying to wrap up the U.S.-backed deal but stressed it will be “temporary” and would be aimed at releasing half of the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza, many of them believed dead.

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